Did Taylor Swift just resurrect iTunes? Apple's music app breaks a 6-year silence for the singer’s new album

The days where iTunes was at its peak were some of the best times as a music buff, and I still remember the thrill of receiving gift vouchers and carefully planning which latest music release to add to my basket. But then Apple Music entered the room, and iTunes was shoved into the shadows of the best music streaming services, resulting in its phase-out in 2019.

Though the iTunes store remains native to the iPhone ecosystem, the days of scouring through its library and deciding how to strategically spend that £15 voucher are long behind us. But the OG digital music purchasing service has made a sudden comeback, and it’s all because of Taylor Swift.

A few weeks back, Taylor Swift announced that she would be dropping her new album The Life of a Showgirl on October 3 and naturally, the world went into a frenzy. Out of all the reactions it received, iTunes’ recent X post (see below) stood out the most, with the platform breaking its dramatic six-year social media silence and overhauling its home page with a Swift-themed design.

The last time iTunes shared anything online was back in 2019 when Apple announced it would be dissolving its digital music store, and if anyone was going to resurrect iTunes, of course it would be Taylor Swift – even if it’s via a promotional deal offering an Apple-exclusive album variant.

The old iTunes can’t come to the phone right now

Swift’s unorthodox – yet quintessentially capitalist – partnership with iTunes unlocks a core memory from my very early teenage years that’s been long buried.

While it couldn’t compete with the rise of music streaming services, Apple’s flagship music app certainly paved the way and birthed some iconic moments in music history that streaming services can only dream of recreating – one of them being the stamp of approval it received from The Beatles, who granted iTunes access to their entire catalog in 2011.

However, it was Beyoncé who changed the game in 2013 after surprise-dropping her self-titled album at midnight. From then onwards, Friday became the new release day for artists to drop fresh music instead of Tuesday, and it’s been that way ever since.

I doubt that Swift’s impact will see a full iTunes Renaissance, as Apple Music and Spotify are the go-to for digital music consumption – but it’s indeed brought back a lot of nostalgia.

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